High School Math Applied to Ethanol

[M.A. Johnson]

High School Math Applied to Ethanol
Posted by Kathryn Muratore at 12:27 PM

A research paper written by high school students has been published in a peer-reviewed journal. Using advanced high school math, they calculate what many farmers, politicians, and environmentalists deny:

Ethanol was found to be a poor solution­economically, environmentally, and socially.

On the economical side, they estimate that the break-even point for ethanol is more than $200/barrel for oil, which we didn't see even in the peak last summer. On the environmental side, they estimate that ethanol produces more CO2 than gas, and that it is unlikely to overtake gas in this area for another century. On the social side, they recognize a basic rule of scarcity - if we divert all US corn production to ethanol rather than food, then prices of grain will rise above the level that can paid by poor people who rely on inexpensive grain to literally survive.

Link via PhysOrg

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